"Come and vacation in Sochi ... please!"

By Ben Wyatt, CNN

updated 5:45 AM EST, Tue February 18, 2014

Billions of dollars have been spent readying Sochi for the Olympics, but who will come once the Games are over? "The Olympics will help us make (Sochi) popular around the world," says deputy tourism chief Malorodnova Julia Vladimirovna (pictured).

The Sochi region has been completely transformed in the run-up to the Olympics -- new hotels (such as this one) have doubled the number of rooms to 50,000.

The new 40,000-seat Fisht Stadium (left) and Bolshoi Ice Dome (right) dominate the horizon at the Olympic Park. Roads linking all the new Olympics facilities have confused cab drivers.

In the coastal area of the Olympic Park, the athletes' village will be turned into beach apartments after the Games. The plan is to make Sochi a Russian vacation resort again.

International hotel companies have moved into Sochi hoping to capitalize on all the investment. The Tulip Inn Hotel (pictured), a Dutch company, plus Radisson, Hyatt and Marriott all have a presence.

A market research firm has predicted more than enough visitors to make Sochi's $700 million new theme park break even.

In 1909 the first hotel, Riviera, was built on the Sochi shore. The Soviets later developed the resort for working people.

Downtown Sochi has impressive buildings. Built in 1952, the railway station (pictured) is a good example of "late Stalinist" style.

Boutiques and expensive restaurants are clustered along the Sochi shore. The new harbor cost a reported $230 million.

Within the Sochi region, the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve is the second largest of its kind within Europe. Devil's Gate Canyon (pictured) has five-meter-deep freshwater pools for swimming.

Paul Beck (pictured) heads Sochi's $700 million new theme park. "Change in Russia has been huge, even in a year. A new generation's coming," he says.

"We don't want a copy of Eurodisney," Beck says. The Russians "want to keep their own culture" -- even if the roller coasters are all foreign made.

HIDE CAPTION

Sochi as tourist destination

Plenty of hotel rooms, but guests?

Olympic Park

Athletes' village

Chains move in

Welcome to Sochi Park

Hotel Riviera

Stalinist style

Luxurious seafront

Devil's Gate

Sochi Park

Keeping it real

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

>

>>

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Sochi hotel rooms doubled to 50,000 for the Olympics

New theme park cost $700 million

Sochi is set to host F1 races from 2014 and will be a World Cup city in 2018

But will tourists come?

Sochi, Russia (CNN) -- "Olympic Village train station!" I say into the smartphone, which is running my voice through a translation app.

I give the device back to the taxi driver.

He reads the Russian display showing the app's best guess of what I've just said and then scratches his head.

We left the hotel not five minutes ago but already he's lost.

With only hand signals and inaccurate electronic translation, the chance of reaching my destination, just across town, looks slim.

And this is no isolated incident.

More lost taxi drivers

In fact, it's the second time today I've ordered a taxi with a local driver who has little notion how to get around the city he calls home.

Bizarre?

Turns out there's a very good reason for such confusion, and it's not solely due to my inadequate language skills.

Getting taxis is a nightmare - local drivers confused with new street layout, translations on phone app! #C... https://t.co/37NV6xkhbI

It's more to do with the complete transformation of the Adler district in Sochi, home of the Olympic Park.

Such is the scale of the change it's as if a new town has opened in one day.

No wonder there are a few bemused cabbies on the streets.

Roads, bridges and railway lines

According to the local government, the following developments have been completed in the Sochi region in the past five years: 360 kilometers of new roads and bridges, 54 railway bridges totaling 16 kilometers in length, 200 kilometers of new railway lines, 22 tunnels, 480 kilometers of low-pressure gas pipelines, 550 kilometers of high-voltage power lines and two new thermal and one gas power plant that together produce more than 1200 megawatts.

A new water and wastewater treatment facility processes 255,000 cubic meters of liquid per day; a new seaport has been built to take two passenger liners, two ferries and 300 yachts.

There are 60 new educational, cultural, sports and health facilities, and four ski complexes have been created (Roza Khutor, OAO Gazprom, Gornaya Karusel, Alpika - Servis).

Hotel capacity for the city has doubled to 50,000 rooms in the same period, with 56 of these hotels now rated four-star or above.

Regardless of political persuasion and aside from equations on value for money against investment, the ambition of the Sochi project is so staggering it's hard to believe until you see it.

'Of course there are drawbacks'

"Krasnaya Polyana [Sochi's mountain resort] has always been visited year-round but the Olympics will help us make it popular around the world," Malorodnova Julia Vladimirovna, deputy chief of Sochi's Department of Resort Business and Tourism, tells CNN.

Given the extent of the development you could see how media complaints about their unfinished Olympic hotel rooms, though justified, may have been a cause of frustration for anyone involved in the project.

"Of course there are drawbacks --- some of the hotels have been recently built.

"If you would like to find the negative you will," Vladimirovna tells CNN.

"In 2013, about four million people visited us.

"There have been fewer tourists during the preparation for the Games -- we lost 10% to 15% -- but that's natural.

"When you make a renovation in your flat, you wouldn't invite friends," as Vladimirovna puts it.

Too many hotel rooms?

Sochi estimates that hotel capacity was at 79% last year which, given all the new accommodation, raises the question: how are all those hotels going to be filled after the Games?

For Vladimirovna the answer is simple: "Chains such as Hyatt, Radisson and Marriott [are now here and] they will attract tourists.

"We're also launching a huge advertising campaign in America, Canada and Europe."

The Olympic site will be the staging ground for Russia's first Formula One Grand Prix, in October.

Sochi will also be one of the venue cities for the 2018 World Cup, and it now has the infrastructure to stage many alpine and winter sport events.

The theme park manager

Paul Beck, the avuncular Dutchman in charge of Sochi's new theme park, recognizes the challenges but remains a keen advocate for the city.

"[In Soviet times] people came here because it was the best beach in Russia, but when the borders were opened everyone could travel to Europe.

"Now we have to fight to get them back.

"We have a quality product ... although attracting people from outside Russia ... will not be easy.

"But let's give it a try!"

Previously managing director of the second biggest theme park in Europe, Beck has also been a Volkswagen board member and head of World Expos -- the five-yearly event where nations and large organizations show off their achievements.

Will tourists come?

Given his experience, does he think enough tourists will come to provide a decent return on the theme park's $700 million investment?

"We need to attract 1.5 million visitors annually to turn a profit.

"The great thing about Sochi is you have wonderful year-round weather," he says.

That lets the park stay open all day and into the evening.

Sochi residents say the city has just three seasons -- warm and humid summers giving way to long autumns that pass seamlessly into spring.